


Shadows of the Light

by Hedgefox Kitsune (theshadeshadow)



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! - All Media Types
Genre: Accidental descriptive gore, Atem is Yuugi's Darkness, DSoD-AU, He's a little bloodthirsty, M/M, Season 0 Yami, Yami is the new world-lines darkness, anime atem, but yami is more than a little murdery
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-25
Updated: 2021-03-06
Packaged: 2021-03-18 05:15:36
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,118
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28986960
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theshadeshadow/pseuds/Hedgefox%20Kitsune
Summary: A pained soul, a threat to the past, a familiar presence yet a stranger anew, a new journey unfolds for Yuugi Mutou.
Relationships: Atem/Mutou Yuugi
Comments: 8
Kudos: 20





	1. Chapter 1

It was the pain that woke him suddenly, a deep unconscious ache that pulsed within. Breathing steadily, pressed a gentle hand against a shuddering chest while the other hand pushed himself up, slipping a leg off the bed and letting it hang as he sat there.

Blinking purple eyes in tiredness, as the edges of his face crinkled in pain, stood from the bed. Staggered, wheezing, as the hand that was still on a shuddering chest, curled into a fist. It was as if unconsciously that hand was trying to grab something that wasn’t there.

Breathing for a long moment, turned to look at the bed he had just left and made an exhausted sigh in accomplishment, Kaiba’s plan had worked. There sleeping peacefully on the bed was a sight that he hadn’t seen for a long time. A younger Yugi Moto. All baby fat in his cheeks with the shortness of his youth, this was the sign the visitor had been told to look for.

Turning away, settled his gaze upon the one item that made the biting pain increase inside. Biting back a whine, as an eye closed trying to push back his soul's agony. Slowly the male moved over to the golden box of hieroglyphics sitting on the desk.

Reaching the sturdy bit of furniture, leaned against it for a long moment gathering himself. Then turning purple eyes down to survey the box couldn’t resist taking one look before he left. The young man knew it was foolish, that it was just putting more cracks into an already unstable foundation. But he couldn’t leave without seeing the piece that held the soul of the other.

Though the visitor knew he had to be careful, if the other inside decided that there was a threat, even the confines of the prison would not stop the beings wrath, as the deaths of previous people showed. The box was far from helpless against scavengers and thieves.

No he wasn’t here to steal, just a quick look. Reaching forward ran gentle fingers over the golden markings, and something inside settled. A hissed breath escaped, knowing he couldn't do this for too long. Lifting the lid set it aside and gazed into the hollow box.

Puzzle pieces glinted up at him from the confines of the box, glinting in the shadowed light and like every time in a year-long past, purple eyes settled unerringly on the one piece that made his soul shudder and try to reach out in agonising cries. Cupping the piece in his hand, lifted it up to eye view. The eye of Wdjat was as he remembered, in this nothing had faded.

Lifting up the piece, pressed it against his third eye, eyes closed, as tears were bitten back. Old hurts reawakened at seeing the one thing that had once been his. Lowering the piece down, stared right into the eye for a second, before a tired but gentle smile appeared for a second. Pressing a ghost of a kiss against the piece, set it back within its box. The Eye seemed to darken for a moment, making him blink, but it must have only been a play of the dimmed light. Shaking his head in confusion for that brief moment, lifted the lid and sealed the puzzle back within its home.

Biting his lip stepped back, as an internal scream made his body quiver and arch as something inside tore suddenly. A hand pressed against his chest, it was getting worse. Pushing up onto his feet, where the male had suddenly ended in a crouch, looked once more at the bed with a broken smile. ‘ _Good luck_ _Yu_ _u_ _gi_.’

Walking out of the room, grimaced again. Turning to shut the door, leaning tiredly against the wall staring confused at the darker shadows within the bedroom, again shaking his head in confusion closed the door with a gentle click, before letting an audible sigh escape. Turning away headed towards the entrance of the shop down the stairs. Fingers lifted up to his arm and began tapping in a seemingly nonsensical way before a virtual keyboard appeared beneath his fingers. Red began to glow down his shoulder and arm as the virtual duel disk and computer system activated. Around his face, on the right side, red lines faded into view, as the mental processes became tapped into.

<Welcome user. Proceed with ID recognition.>

“User two the dark magician.” Coming out of the backroom into the main shop, his voice echoed into the quiet air. Striding over to the door, reached down to his belt and retrieved a key from one of the small pouches hanging on one of the leather belts around the male's waist. Unlocking the door, only opened it a fraction to squeeze out and not disturb the bell at the top of the door. Thankfully, as the young visitor had grown older, his height and weight hadn’t changed too much over the years. He was still a tiny 5ft after all.

<Welcome dark magician. Patching you through to user one white dragon.>

“Thanks, Kisara. Let me know when he’s available would you?”

<Yes dark magician, I will notify you when the white dragon is online.>

“Excellent.” Turning, inserted the key into the lock and relocked the door. If he was lucky, the young man wouldn’t have to come back to the shop, a place where it had all began his journey and very soon would all begin again with the completion of the puzzle.

“Kisara, find me a cheap but decent place to sleep would you?” Fingers typing quickly soon shot downwards and grabbed the card that materialized out of nothing. A credit card sitting within his palm where nothing had existed a moment ago. “Looks like the system is working well enough, it performed just like Kaiba said it would.”

Flipping the card around, there was no difference between this one and the original card he used in day to day transactions. “I can’t even tell this isn’t the real thing. Wow, I’m impressed.” Sliding his new card into one of the pouches on his belt, read over the information the system was sending him. “Seems like the dimension cortex engine is holding up well, considering I had to use it to get me here.”

<Dark magician, here are the directions to the nearest dwelling that fits your specification.> On the side of his face which had the glowing tech, a pathway flicked into being, reminding him very much of a mapping system. Which is probably where Kaiba got his inspiration from in the first place. “Thanks. Speak to you later, hopefully when the white dragon comes online.”

<Understood.>

Following the map, soon the young man was entering into a slightly rundown but clearly loved building. Pushing through the door, which made the bell ring about the door, pausing momentarily to survey the entrance hall when exhaustion suddenly hit. Clearly, the travel had taken it out of him.

“Can I help you, sir?” A young voice drew his attention, there behind the desk was a teen looking a little worried.

Blinking gave a bright smile and strode over to the assistant behind the desk. “Mn I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to drift off into my own thoughts like that.” Stopping beside the desk, reached down and pulled out the card and placed it upon the wood top. “Mind if I can have an open tab? I don’t know how many day’s I’m going to be here for.”

The teen brightened, smiling as they nodded. “Yes sir, I can set you up right away. There are not many people here at the moment with none of the championships or festivals going on right now, so the place is fairly quiet.” Bending down they rummaged through what sounded like sheets of paper before standing up with a sound of accomplishment. “Just sign here, print your name. Leave the ‘days I intend to stay’ blank for now until you know when you're leaving and I’ll process your card in the machine.”

Bowing lightly with a “thank you so much,” soon everything was sorted, the card was processed details sorted and now the teen came out from behind the desk carrying a set of keys in their pocket.

“Alright, everything is set. You pay at the end of each week until you know what day you are going to leave. Your laundry can be left outside the door in the basket provided, breakfast and dinner can be served to your room if you wish to pay extra. Any questions?”

“Nope, sounds like you have it all in hand.”

The teen gave a slight smile at the compliment. “This way please, I’ll take you to your room, unlock it for you and give you the key. There is a spare but please don’t loose the one I give you, you would have to pay for a new one. A phone in your room can be used to contact the front desk if needed. Other than that I hope you will enjoy your stay at the Millennium Motel.”

-Yu-Gi-Oh-

The door to the hotel room unlocked with a click as the keycard passed down the lock. Turning the teen held out the key which the visitor took with a thankful bow of his head.

“I hope you enjoy your time here. Enjoy your stay.” And with that, the teen was gone, down the hall and around the corner.

Turning to the door with was glowing green to signify it was unlocked, his purple eyes quickly glanced up at the number on the door before entering the room. The room itself was a cosy little place, a little hallway came from the front door and as he could see as he walked into the room, off from the hall was the bathroom. The hall ended up in a space that reminded him quite a bit of the student apartment he had been in when taking classes at University.

It was then he noticed a mirror on the far wall, a full-length one that went from floor to ceiling. The mirror was fixated against a slanted wall that faced the bed and away from the main room, giving the illusion of a room bigger than it actually was. Walking towards it and the table situated next to it, the young man came to a sudden stop as he looked at his own reflection close up.

Purple eyes, set within a gentle-looking face. Black hair that defied gravity in every way, faded into a natural purplish-red colour at the tips and falling gently across his face, blond hair framed those features. Leather pants, a black sleeveless top, black boots, many buckles and a chocker adorned his form, along with the belts holding the pouches to his side.

A smile etched on his face, reflected in the mirror. The same person, yet older. Another Yuugi Mutou within the same time frame.

This should have been impossible, just another day. But the new technology built by Kaiba had made the impossible possible. And now here in the past, the young man would begin his quest in the morning.

Stripping off the accessories off his form, he turned to the bed and sank with a groan. The pain was easier now, away from the item. Even though he wanted to snatch the puzzle, snap together the pieces, it wasn’t his place. This was a different time, and he couldn’t interfere, no matter how much his soul screamed for its darkness as it drowned in the light.

You see there was a problem that occurs with those with half-souls. Many believe dark and light are just part of being good and evil, that the two sides could be so easily separated. This wasn’t the truth, over time through the ages, the actual meanings had gotten lost. Light and Darkness, two half's of the same soul, one of chaos, one of order, one of logic the other of emotion.

You see, when a light lost the dark, it was a dangerous prospect, light needed the darkness. Darkness was emotion, it was love, loss, laughter, joy, sadness, everything. Light is logic and what does logic not need? Emotion. Without a dark, a light will fall, becoming a psychopath. They will utilize the memories of feelings and use them to entrap others in a desperate attempt to feel, and when this fails? people die.

This was the fate of Yuugi, you see he had already begun to see the effects. He wasn’t drained of the shadow’s yet, but when that happened, it was a terrifying prospect. A person, with the ability to be strategic and annihilate his opponents with kindness, would be a ruthless murderer in the future.

Heaving out a sigh, let himself fall back onto the bed. Curling on his side, the young man typed a few things into the keyboard and watched as it dimmed down to a red muted glow. Gazing out into nothing, his hand again ended up unconsciously resting on his chest, fisted over the material. Like this purple eyes slowly dipped, and then he drifted into sleep, a pained expression upon pale features.

-Yu-Gi-Oh-

Over at the shop, something was happening. Where the younger teen was snoozing, over on the desk, a glow had appeared. It pulsed in the darkness, as though agitated. Flickering it grew ever brighter and brighter, making the young Yuugi turn over with a groan and hide his face. Then with a bright flash that woke him from a sleepless night, vanished as soon as it had appeared. The teen soon drifted back off, grumbling about lightning storms and didn’t notice something was missing.

The golden box had vanished.

-Yu-Gi-Oh-

A murmur came to his ear, as the young man buried his face further into the pillow. Fingers flexed curling further into the hold on his chest, hands absent-mindedly curling against the fingers spread wide against his shuddering chest. He felt another curl into his back, as another murmur came again.

‘ _A dream._ ’ He didn’t want to wake, eyes briefly opened, hazy and soft. Falling onto the vision of a gold banded arm and many ringed hand pressing into his chest. Eyes closed once more, a shudder working its way through as another sharp shattering sensation of his soul breaking echoed through his head and body. It was like all his nerves were alight. This is how he knew the painkillers had worn off again.

Another murmur near to his ear and Yuugi began to get confused. Eyes opened again to stare hazily down at the limb holding his chest, to feel the body at his back. This wasn’t real it had to be a dream.

Another hand then came forward and covered his mouth, this was a line the young man put in the sand. Arching went to break free of the grip, his hands rose up to grip that hand over his mouth. But then he saw them, golden puzzle pieces, this Yuugi’s puzzle pieces floating in the air above him.

Panicking now through himself to the side, but the one at his back seemed a lot stronger than the purpled eyed man. Legs hooked over his legs, pinning his form to the bed. Those hands had his body in a tight unbreakable grip that Yuugi could only squirm within. Another murmur and the golden glow grew brighter.

Purple eyes ran over the room trying to find a way to escape in desperation, but it was far too late.

The pieces breached his skin. A pitched cry from deep within echoed out of his pained throat, muffled by the hand over his mouth. This completely shocked him into stillness, the agony of having his soul breached by the magic was unbearable. Yet it happened again and again until the 39th piece finally disappeared leaving no trace behind. The only way to tell were the holes burned through his black sleeveless top.

He lay there shuddering, pained.

The young man could then feel himself being laid down upon the sheets once more, tucked under the covers of the bed. Purple eyes drooped, exhaustion washing over him. “ _No_...” Tried to wriggle out and away, but a ringed hand pressed over his eyes, another murmur was heard from an achingly familiar voice and his consciousness was swept away with no will of his own.

End Chapter 1


	2. Chapter 2

It was the same dream.

Just one.

He’s sat upon the bed, eyes opening to look upon the puzzle. The pyramid is lying on its side, the eye facing his still form. While tired arms hug his own legs tighter, leaning a pale face against tense knees as purple eyes stare down at the golden item in sadness.

It glows for a moment, before another presence appears within his own awareness, while inside his very being seems to sing in happiness and joy at the appearance of the other. But on the outside, Yuugi just tenses, moving his chin to rest on his knees while still staring down at the puzzle.

The other speaks, voice muffled and distant. His own escapes as the young man replies to the query. Voices so distant, yet what is said doesn’t need to be heard, as he had already gone through this remembrance many times.

A sigh escapes, eyes closing for a brief moment, before reaching down and taking up the puzzle, hands cupping it so gently. Before sliding off the bed and finally meeting the others own gaze. Red, that was the colour that looked down at him from those regal eyes. So stern yet gentle, was his other half.

His mouth opens again, distress in his young voice, pleading for the other to understand, for reassurance. Again for a moment, the other just watched, eyes reading the hidden question behind those purple eyes. Before letting a small smile appear as slender fingers came up to curl around his own. He could feel them, over his own, given form for this moment while a promise escaped the other's lips.

A promise… To stay, never wanting to leave.

You liar.

How those charming lies escaped his lips with a gentle smile, when even then the other had been thinking about his own memories, who he was, what he could have left behind.

That promise had been nothing more than a sweet lie.

Before the dream changes, now facing the other as he turns away. The door opens as the other walks through to the afterlife, and something inside _cracks_.

-Yu-Gi-Oh-

It was the constant bleeping that woke him from the exhausting dream this time. Purple eyes blinked before shutting as a yawn escaped and the young man pushed himself into a sitting position. Opening them again, staring at the mirror in confusion, before looking down at the quilt covering his legs. A puzzled expression crossed his face ‘ _how did I get to bed? I thought I fell asleep on top of the covers_.’

Yawning, Yuugi swung his legs off the bed, a hand rubbing at the sleep in his eyes. His Blond fringe falling in the way as purple eyes became drawn back to the mirror. A frown overtaking sleepy features. Before shaking his head and turning to the immediate situation.

Lifting a hand up to where the keypad was situated on his wrist, began to type. Knowing enough about the other man that keeping them waiting for no reason was not a good thing to do.

The faint red glow of his DD grew brighter before a sudden projection appeared in front of his sitting form. There in the light, was the figure of another duellist, someone stubborn, loyal, yet very proud. Arms were crossed in a relaxed stance, the signature full-length white coat giving him a regal presence, brown hair fell over icy blue eyes which looked back at Yuugi with a hidden warmth. A smirk teasing the other's lips. “Yuugi. I see you made it in one piece.”

A grin overtook the smaller man's face, as purple eyes looked up at the towering brunet with similar fondness. “Seto.” Standing, turned and began to create programme windows in the air which the smaller of the two knew was actually appearing in the other man’s workshop. “These are the up-to-date scans from the moment of the jump, till the moment I contacted you. I have had no problems so far, but you’ll be able to tell better than me if anything is going wrong with the system.”

Seto had turned away and was surveying the information with furrowed brows. Fingers flickered through the info, picking out bits, discarding here and there while clearly listening.

“I managed to use the dimension disk to recreate a credit card from memory and it worked. The hotel assistant didn’t notice anything amiss with the creation either.”

“You managed to pay this time?” Those blue eyes flicked to him for a moment before turning back to the screens.

“I did. The payment went through like a normal card.”

“Hn.” A grunt came from the taller male, as his brow furrowed further. Clearly, something had caught his attention.

“Seto?”

“Yuugi, keep up the scans. But be careful if you are drawn into a dimensional battle. The latest cortex engine is only a prototype, it may not stand up to the strain of a long fight and you’ll be the one at risk.”

“Anything I should be worried about?”

Seto shook his head. “Not for the moment, I’ll send you an updated version in a day or so with a better power system to handle the drain on your energy.”

Purple eyes blinked. “So that's why I was so exhausted.”

The taller male turned fully to face the smaller. “Be careful. I cannot guarantee your safety this time around.”

Straightening, purples eyes looked worried. “What do you mean?”

A sharp breath escaped along with a scowl. “Diva’s been stepping up his game plan. He’s moving much faster than previously thought.” Blue eyes looked over at Yuugi. “Several of his young prana suddenly vanished in the middle of battle last night.”

“You think he’s?”

Seto’s head shook just once. “He’s following you. With you in the dimension you are in now, its too far for the rest of us to travel safely until the new updates are successfully implemented.”

Yuugi had a frown on his face. “How soon?”

“At best? With my skills, a week here at the minimum, maybe two if I outfit the entire force.”

With a grim look on his face for a long moment, the young man nodded. “I will hold out and defend this realm to the best of my abilities.”

“Yuugi, you are not understanding me.” Purple eyes looked up into serious piercing Blue. “Two weeks of this worlds time will be months. For me, it’s only been about an hour since you left.”

He took a step back in reaction, shocked. This hadn’t been the case before, times usually ran parallel to the original world. “One hour equals one day,” Yuugi murmured as he stared at the clock across the room which showed the time as being 11 pm at night, this was about the time he had first arrived in this world.

“Be careful Yuugi. You're on your own for now. Good luck.” The other pressed something on his wrist and the projection suddenly vanished. Then bright red light of his own DD faded to a light gentle glow.

Reaching up to rub his brow with tense fingers, lifted a foot to head into the kitchen area of the room when a gentle clink caught his ear. Glancing down through his fingers, stopped as his nerves caused goosebumps to prickle suddenly. All his hair was standing on end as purple eyes stared down at scattered gold upon the carpet. A puzzle in pieces.

A sharp hiss of breath escaped, as he kneeled down.

This wasn’t supposed to be here.

The Yugi of this world was meant to have the puzzle.

He couldn’t understand why it was here on his floor. Eyes scanned over the ground in growing confusion and apprehension. The puzzle wasn’t meant to work on its own, it didn’t have the power unless joined together and even then the spirit wouldn’t have the ability. Then a thought came to him, that made his face pale. Unless this spirit still remembered his past and had the will to act.

His eyes alighted on the box sitting on the window sill, gleaming in the moonlight. Yuugi shivered as something seemed to stare back.

Swallowing reached down and gathered up all the pieces, the clink of golden metal meeting metal echoing in the silence. Standing, he strode over to the puzzle one hand cradling the pieces to his chest. Reaching the box, lifted the lid off and dropped the pieces, making sure to not look inside the golden interior. He could feel the darkness of the main piece, prodding and skirting along his barrier, trying to find a way inside. Biting his lip lifted up the lid and hesitated. The darkness was intoxicating, calling to something deep inside, which seemed to uncurl slightly.

Shutting the box hurriedly, Yuugi cut off that addicting sensation. It hurt too much.

He had to get the box back to this worlds Yugi, or the duellist would be tempted to keep the puzzle.

Lifting up the box, hurried to the door. Letting it bang into the wall as the young man disappeared into the hallway.

Back in the room, a figure appeared for a moment. Form dim in the light. Lips curled up into a dark smirk, as two fingers pressed onto curled lips. While a regal voice seemed to echo out into the empty space as red eyes gleamed beneath a golden crown and shadow’s stirred in hunger.

The hunt was on.

End Chapter 2


	3. Chapter 3

Shutting the door of the game shop once more, breathed a sigh of relief. There had been no incident in getting the millennium puzzle back to the Shop, in fact, all Yuugi had to do was ease inside and leave the box on the front counter where Sugoroku worked. The old man would put the puzzle back in the younger Yugi’s room in the morning.

There was still a shiver running down the visitor's spine, like someone or something was watching. But he wasn’t going to let a little uneasiness shake his resolve.

Striding away after making sure the door was properly locked, switched his focus to the current plan. Kaiba had informed the Duelist to head straight for the underground lab at Kaiba mansion in the message received only moments ago. It had bloomed across his vision like a flower opening silky petals.

The change in directive had already been uploaded to the navigation system and the new destination now flickered in view. It seemed Kaiba had worked quickly to get those updates done, with the situation more dire than ever before.

Being stranded was...difficult.

No backup, no friends, no darkness who had left long ago. This time the little light was truly alone.

For now, Diva wasn’t here if the time difference held up. It would give a month of preparation at least before the other would catch up.

Stopping in the middle of the road, began to focus on the image within his mind. Closing purple eyes, let his imagination unfurl, the barriers having been unleashed long ago. When the image solidified, opened dazed eyes brought a hand across and pressed on the keypad once.

A blinding pain, liquid running down heaving shoulders, as vomit covered the ground. Limbs shook, as arms held up a trembling form. When had he ended up on hands and knees?

Breathing in shakily, shifted carefully, feeling the difference in weight. The human body was not meant to take this torment, to force change and rearrange atoms. It was an agonizing thing to do, a game of gods, now in the hands of mortals.

Looking back over a trembling shoulder gazed at feathered limbs. They had at least formed right, created in imagination, brought to life in creation, made real with blood and pain. Closing weary eyes again pushed up onto shaking knees. Forcing a tortured body to endure this hell. His soul was broken, his will dying. And so this pain kept Yuugi alive.

If only Atem could see his light now.

Staring upwards for a long second, then snapped out the long, long limbs. They were over twice his tiny height and folded up thrice against the small body. Black feathers with tints of red gave a haunting picture, while on the underside hidden golden-blond peaked out from under slimline feathers. Breathing out in focus, snapped them down and shot off into the sky, heading for the mansion.

-YuGiOh-

Walking up to the entrance, allowed the program to activate. An AI holographic figure of Kaiba appeared as real as the original. The hologram picked up the entrance and lowered it behind the two as they stepped down into the First Lab of the elder Kaiba.

Entering the inner sanctum, the hologram began to immediately type into the console. Overriding the original programming, shut down the simple AI before it realized there were intruders within the room. This wasn’t permanent, just long enough to get what was needed to be done and leave. It would be like the AI had never been awoken.

The Hologram pointed at the chair and began typing in quick succession, connecting the two labs with a dimensional link to upload the updates desperately needed.

Walking over, carefully sat down with the wings still dimension summoned upon his back. Getting comfortable, laid the left hand upright with the underside on show.

On the screen an image appeared of the other lab, revealing not only the elder brother but the younger as well working on the console across the way. “Hey, Yuugi. It’s good to see you.” Called the young Kaiba as he focused on the screen in front of him. “I’ll be focusing on your vitals while the updates take effect.”

“Thanks, Mokuba, I’m glad to see you're doing ok.” A smile appeared on his face, as purple eyes scanned the younger brother. “I was worried when you vanished in the last battle.”

“Hah! Nobody can take down the Kaiba brothers. Don’t you worry Yuugi, I’m fine.” those blue eyes flickered over for a moment worry within. “But with you being separated from us like this.” A scowl appeared on the teens face. “I don’t like it.”

“Again... Yuugi? Didn’t I tell you to knock off wing summoning after last time?” The elder Kaiba’s lips were curled into a thin line, as those icy blue eyes narrowed in anger and frustration. “You’ll kill yourself if you keep this up.”

The younger man just looked away, shoulders tensed. A sigh was heard escaping the older Kaiba before rapid typing was heard. “You know the procedure Yuugi. Relax as much as you can.”

Purple eyes turned to watch the hologram bring over the ends of several cables which were already plugged into the computer system. He swallowed, already hating having to go through this again. The young man didn't like having his control stripped from him.

“With the cortex system directly interfaced with the brain, you’ll be put into a dazed state when the upload commences to negate the pain the changes will cause.”

There was a reason for this. The neural network cortex system was wired straight into the brain. It was an organically grown computer, first implanted into the base of the skull and allowed to grow into the brain itself. Everyone who had been through the procedure had to be put into a sleep-like state after the agonizing shrieking pain Yuugi went through as it grew, dug deep and connected to his very self.

It was so intimate that even in the soul room, the system was deeply entwined, a breach upon the soul, one willingly taken.

A strange yet familiar feeling of ports being plugged into pale skin drew a wandering attention to his arm. About five were connected at various points, with the last still in the holograms hands. The AI reached forward and gently tilted Yuugi’s head forward to expose the back of his neck and lifted the hair there. The skin lifted to reveal another port, which the AI connected the final line with a deafening click in the silent room.

_If only you could see me now Atem, my darkness._

He watched as Kaiba began to type quickly, a focused glare upon his screen.

_Would you yell in anger, other me? At what I’ve done to myself? Would you blame Seto for trespassing again on my soul?_

“Vitals are steady. We are good to go, brother.”

_Would you kill them for this Atem? For what I’ve done to myself?_

And a finger tapped enter on the keyboard. “Uploading neural update v134.75.”

Purple eyes blinked sharply for a few minutes before falling into a dazed state. The purple colour darkening as Yuugi’s mind fell into a haze, as the program being executed forced his mind into a dreamlike state.

The lights along his left side all lit up brightly suddenly as the connection appeared in full.

The duelist sat there, blinking dazedly downwards, as the feeling of razor-sharp tendrils moved under his skull. Eyes flickered in involuntary movement as they pierced into the grey matter once more to change the structure of the network embedded into the brain.

Wet sticky liquid ran down from his nose.

A shadow caught drifting thoughts. Standing at the console head tilted to the side, were red, red eyes. Confusion drifted dimly as more tearing was dimly felt.

_?_

The shadow moved, kneeling down beside the slack form. Graceful fingers, clad in gold, gold rings pick up a feather from the floor.

_Who?_

A tanned face meets his own, holding a steady gaze to drifting dazed purple. A tricolour of gold, crimson and black framing a golden crown comes into wavering focus.

Fingers twitch at his side but do not move. An aching emptiness, a void inside.

_Darkness..._

Those fingers are now coated in crimson, lifting from pale skin. Those lips part and a tongue collect the bitter iron flavour. And still, purple and red are locked as one.

Those fingers now are spread across his skin, under the blacktop. The metal cold, cold, cold. A soothing contrast. Then a sudden shiver, as pressure builds. A familiar cold, trying to find it’s way in.

His soul’s room, locked and chained.

The others glittering crown rests against his brow, third eye to the third eye. Eyes still locked with one another.

_It hurts…_

_Please…_

_Don’t…_

_Darkness stop…_

But all too late, his soul is weak. Worn from supporting a broken creature. Torn and pained, it curls inwards, as shadows descend and seep into the cracks.

A last fight occurs, as purple eyes slide shut.

A room blooms as he appears. Torn and broken, it’s still his soul. Turning to the door stares at the barred entrance, which appeared when his darkness walked away.

Then sees the shadows seeping in through the cracks. Yuugi frowns, focusing and they fall away, light filling up the cracks.

But one does forget a little thing, like looking behind. When focusing in front, he didn’t check the other side. For that had been fine until now, but the cracking had done more damage than seen and let the darkness slip in.

It caught the tiny form, enveloping his inner self. Thrashing tried to escape, but at this point how could he. The darkness is not something you can escape.

It filtered in, sending a shriek into the air. Red lights across his form flashing in reaction to his agitation. Collapsing down, fell into fetal position. Soul crying for its other half. Eyes dim, as the shadows, cover the shivering form, not seeing the door break apart.

And in stepped a figure, both right and wrong.

( _ **Yuugi**_ …)

-YuGiOh-

He blinked, grimacing. Aching and sore. A pulsing pain deep within his brain. Cradling colourless features with a shaking hand swallowed back bile as his stomach clenched.

“Update successful!” The cheerful sound of Mokuba drew Yuugi’s attention back up to the screen, where a grinning wild black haired teen rocked back and forth. “It all went smoothly. No damage retained and all the old links have healed up nicely.”

“You will retain a headache for a day or two, as the new links settle in. Do not use dimension summoning until three days have passed.” The elder brunet had a tightness around his eyes as though the elder Kaiba was stressed. “Only dispel the wings when you get back to your safe room. You will sleep heavily, make sure you’re safe.”

The purple-eyed man nodded carefully, a pained expression flitting across his face.

“Go now, while you have the ability to do so.”

Pushing up onto wavering feet, gave a thankful grin at the two. Thankfully the wires had been removed before his consciousness had returned. Before walking away, with a backwards wave. “Bye Seto, Mokuba.”

Hopefully, Yuugi mused, he could get back. Hopefully without collapsing.

And thus the door slid shut.

_**Chapter 3** _


	4. Chapter 4

It had been at least over a week since he had arrived in this world-line.

The updating of the Cortex system had left the young man completely comatose, in a deathlike dream-state until the new changes had settled. When unconscious the wings that had been dimension summoned had de-materialized leaving an aching, burning sensation behind. No one could keep up the summoned creations if the mind was not active, the very creation of anything from imagination needed consciousness to support it. But the breaking down of these illusions made real had allowed Yuugi to get the rest the traveller's body had so desperately desired.

Though, as gentle fingers pressed against the pale skin of his arm, Yuugi defiantly didn’t think there should have been this much of a change. Strands of glowing gold drifted across the skin, glimmering within the light. Soft, soft brilliance, wrapped up in a tiny package. Like wires, or veins beneath the flesh. But moving as though a will of its own. Power of the darkness, wrapped in streams of light, drifting over the skin, trapped.

Purple eyes lifted to stare over into the distance, growing hazy with thought. Sat high above the ground, atop a rooftop, hidden away. Allowing familiarity to draw him to this place, Domino High.

Movement below, children entering, the day has begun. A glint of brighter gold, hair stands on end, the pulse of darkness unmistakable. Eyes fall on the young Yugi, completed puzzle in hand. Hanging around that slim neck, the draw is unmistakable, a fly caught in a web.

Brows furrow, something isn’t right. The darkness is much more tangible, a hint of bloody madness. Has something gone wrong?

Yami had been dark, but not frightening. But this, this feels like bloodthirst, madness and death. A king fallen, an angel broken. Could the puzzle have torn the very essence of the dark-ones honour away, leaving the shadow behind?

Hearing the last few students entering into the building, Yuugi stood. Brushing fingers through tangled locks of black tinted red turned towards the door. Opening the roof’s entrance, entered the building. After all, how better to protect the puzzle from Diva, but to become a teacher. How the tables have turned.

Reaching the classroom where Miss Chrono had once taught, took in a deep breath. Entering, all sound fell. Wide eyes fixated on his form. For it must be strange to see two people with the same hair. Reaching the desk, turned to face the class, taking a quick sweep over the students. Both sets of purple meet for a single moment, bewilderment on the younger teen. Before within a second that could be missed, bloody red flash into view before disappearing once more.

Bowing towards the class of students, gave a bright grin. “Good morning, I am your new tutor. You may call me Yuji Mato I am your new Sensei and I will be teaching you this semester.”

-Yu-Gi-Oh-

The last bell had rung, allowing the students to escape the school. Yuugi leaned back on the desk, staring upwards. He had forgotten how tiring school was, no matter if it was from the student's side or the teachers. Breathing outwards with a grumble, pushed off and headed out the door, snagging a long black coat lying across the desk and shrugging it on. Students moved aside, watching his form as the adult walked down the hallway.

“Excuse me. Sensei?” Stopping, turned his head to look out the corner of his eye. There looking nervous was Yugi, fingers tight around the rope holding the puzzle. Tilting his head, the young man turned to look straight on at the nervous tiny teenager.

“Yes?” A small smile appeared.

“Umm...” The younger Yugi looked down at his feet for a second before straightening up, looking back with nervous yet determined eyes. “Are we… are we related?” That hand slid down to cup the puzzle, unconsciously rubbing the darkened Wadjet eye on the front. “Um. You look similar to me.”

A chuckle escaped a gentle yet amused expression on Yuugi’s face. “No. We aren't little one. It’s pure circumstance.”

Those purple eyes watched with a confused expression, before falling to the floor. “Oh...”

He would have said more, but a flare of violent energy caught the duelists attention. ‘N _ot Diva’_ Snapping his head to the side, narrowed his focused eyes, glaring into the air. Lips pressed together, recognizing the signature all too well. ‘ _Well, the Prana are certainly moving fast.’_

“Are… are you ok Sensei?” The voice of the younger Yugi drew his attention back for a brief moment. Focusing once more on the young teen, missed the red mixed into the purple iris of the boy.

“I’ll speak to you later little one. I’ve got business to take care of right now.” With that, snapped around on a single foot and began to stride down the hallway. His coat flared out with the movement, the black soft leather flowing with the movement. It had been an impulse by, due to the chill in the air. The need for something to cover bare arms had cropped up, so that morning before coming to the school he had popped in a leather shop and bought the coat.

If Yuugi could have seen himself from the back, he would have faulted at the resemblance to Atem this made the duelist look. The spirit of the Pharaoh had held a great deal more influence than had been thought, and if Atem had known how much, he would have been horrified. The spirit had wanted Yuugi to be strong in body and mind, but not like this, the young man was so strong, that killing another didn’t phase him anymore. The battles with the Prana, with death on the line, had forced everyone to discard notions of mercy. Though if Seto eventually managed to get through to the Pharaoh, he would find out sooner rather than later.

You see the world was gone, only a few small points of land remained in Yuugi’s original world, where Seto’s technology had managed to block out the erasure of the human race. Every person left had been outfitted with the dimension disks, rewriting their very selves to have a hope of fighting the enemy on their own territory. Though with the way things were, the Prana were endless. Because Diva could jump dimensions easily, he could recruit alternate versions of his Prana solders.

The funny thing about it all was in all other dimensions, Diva wasn’t so bloodthirsty. It was only their own who had no care, and it showed. Diva would vanish, take out another version of himself, recruit the prana, wipe out that world and return to the original world-line. It made for a never-ending army that never got tired, never had to stop and didn’t rest.

Reaching the back door, stopped for a moment. Lifting his arm, typed into the invisible keypad, a program formed within the mind's eye, drawing a map of the area. A glowing mark appeared, giving the exact co-ordinates needed to get to the wayward prana. Pushing down the bar, flicked a hand to shorty circuit the alarm before exiting swiftly, focused on his target.

-Yu-Gi-Oh-

A blade formed, a tense thumb rubbing over the engraving. Purple eyes scanned over the rooftops, lips white with pressure. A flicker in the overhead of his view and Yuugi’s body _**moved**_ , sliding down into a roll as the high pitched noise of a short sword whistled overhead. Pushing off within the same movement, concrete broke as a summoned hammer broke the roof where the duelist had just been. Swinging around, let the dark magic escape along with a dagger powered by multiply, causing one to become many. Blond bags shifted into view as the blade clashed with the Prana’s own, those blank Grey-eyes staring soullessly into furious purple.

Then a shift, purple eyes darkened, blackness seeming to swallow the white, as purple clouds gathered around the two. A light was calling, the shadows rejoicing, a sacrifice beheld. The prana tried to move away, but Yuugi had grabbed their shirt to make them stay. A twisted smile appeared, gentleness turned to madness as the shadows curled lovingly around the failing lights form.

“You lose.” He whispered, foot lifting with hissed words. A kick into the other's chest, the blades unlock, as the Prana staggers back, shoulders hunched in. With no darkness to temper the light, there was no limit left, the shadows giggled and hissed as they tore towards the soulless creature. “Goodbye.” Yuugi grinned gently yet maliciously.

How much was the light hiding behind a kind gaze and gentle smiles? Who knows.

_Atem help me…_

_I’m drowning in the light._

_It’s killing me._

No scream was heard, just an inhaled breath of shock, before the empty body hit the ground with a thud. Red coated the Prana’s face, from their very insides vaporizing from the shadows touch, a pharaohs power run mad. It pooled on the ground, streams of gleaming red from the eyes, mouth, ears and nose, which trickled slowly to a stop, the other now dead.

The shadows retreated in contentment, curling around the rulers light as they faded, protective over their cracking Hikari. Within his mind, whispers of unknowing languages echoed, hissing within Yuugi’s mind. A shadow of a bond, a replica of a missing half.

Then he blinked, eyes lightening once more. The dagger fell to the ground. A grunt escaped as shaky hands cradled a pounding skull. What had happened at that moment as the shadows had formed? He could not say, the memory was gone. Hissing out a curse into the still air, let those hands drop to tense sides. The young man should return to the safe room if only to gather stray thoughts.

Turning walked to the edge of the building where the edge of a ladder could be seen. Gripping the cold metal, jumped over and slid down, gritting his teeth against the sharp pain of rust digging into bare palms.

Landing with a crunch onto the gravelled ground, stiffened as the sound was accompanied by the sound of liquid underfoot. Looking down reflectively, blinked at the crimson red underfoot. Lifting his head up, spied the same liquid dripping down steps of the very ladder the duelist had just travelled down. A sharp breath is taken in, and all that can be smelled is sharp iron and bitter acid. Turning to look at the same alley Yuugi had travelled to get to the rooftop not an hour ago, pale features turned white.

Meat and blood and flesh and bone and gristle and intestines litter the ground. What was once living beings, were now nothing more than dead flesh and putrid waste. Crimson dripped down red dripped walls. As purple eyes scanned the piles of meat and flesh until his attention was caught on something familiar. Crouching near the broken body, lifted a scrap of cloth and then jerked back with a sharp intake of horrified breath. He had known these people...

As Yuugi looked at each one, distinct features came into view through the mutilated flesh and bone. It was Ushio and his disciplinary group, they were all dead.

This…

Something had gone very wrong.

And Yuugi hoped to Ra it wasn’t the pharaoh of this world-line, because if it was, they were all in a heap of trouble.

_**End Chapter 4** _


End file.
